It sounds as if you have been started on the right treatment for active and inflamed lichen sclerosus. I would expect that the application of Dermovate twice a day for 2 months would settle or certainly greatly reduce the inflammation that drives the symptoms of lichen sclerosus, especially itch. If...

The question of how long to use a steroid cream or ointment, what strength to use and whether to stop and start or use longer term is always a difficult one to answer. It rather depends on how active the lichen sclerosus is at any one time. I would normally suggest using the steroid on the skin for ...

Lichen sclerosus and diabetes (type1) do sometimes occur in the same person. Diabetes also means that you need to be on the look-out for thrush (candida) that can also make you itchy and sore. Of course anyone can get thrush and having lichen sclerosis does not mean you are any less likely or more l...

What a good question and one that I would love to be able to answer positively! It is known that lichen sclerosus is a mild or limited disorder of the immune system, in which only part of the body is affected. Many of the treatments available now that suppress the immune system have a wide effect on...

It can certainly be confusing when you are given more than one cream or ointment to use - which for where and in what order? The 2 main parts of treatment for lichen sclerosus are an anti-inflammatory cream to counteract the inflammation (usually a topical steroid cream or ointment) and one or more ...

Lichen sclerosus is a long-term condition, as you have already discovered, and treatment needs to be long-term as well. In an ideal world, lichen sclerosus would be kept 'under review', but that is ideally done with you, the patient, involved. You need to 'keep an eye on things', although I apprecia...

Yes - the COVID crisis is making things a bit more challenging in all sorts of ways, but best to stay safe. At the moment, many hospitals are making the first appointment a telephone call and then, if needed and when possible, a visit to the clinic may be arranged. It is of course difficult to make ...

Lichen sclerosus is usually a long-term condition and will need long-term treatment. However, the treatment you need when it is bad (i.e. very inflamed) may be different to the treatment you need when it is quiet. So you want to use just enough and just strong enough treatment to keep your severity ...

All important questions! Lichen sclerosus is caused by the body's own immune system slightly misfiring and instead of just protecting us from the outside, can sometimes 'over-react' and attack the body itself. Lichen sclerosus is not a vigorous attack on the body, but is limited (usually) to the gen...

Treatment for lichen sclerosus is a long-term challenge. The betamethasone cream or ointment is a good treatment for the skin problem, but it sounds as if your symptoms are definitely not under control, and you may not be using it enough. It can be difficult to know how often to use such a topical s...